constructing the double belt

[Chuck Russell]

a few pointers needed please.
i am planning on useing the belt plates at albion of the hod hill find. now my questions are:

how long should i make each belt?
do both belts have frogs? 1 for the pugio the other for the gladius?
was there a certain type of end shape of the tounge?
how many plates should i put in the front vs the back?

are teh belts seperate, or do they connect together some how?

any original pictures or reconstructed pictures would be greatly apreciated

[Peroni]

You'll find it very difficult to wear two belts with your segmentata! It was an Augustan period to Flavian period thing IIRC to wear the two belts with mail.

Here's a photo of my old kit with mail shirt and two belts. (frogs used on both).
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b242/ ... audian.jpg

These are some of the components I used for the top belt (with apron)
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b242/ ... nodge2.jpg

and this is the belt that was underneath (sword belt) Narrower and lighter.
[url:dzw1e18c]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b242/peronis/silver1.jpg[/url]

Buckle pins vary from buckle to buckle. Some are simple pins, others are shaped to the buckle more.

The belts are definately separate.
If you plan to use the Albion plates, be warned, they are cast bronze and therefore far too thick and heavy! The original plates are thin brass sheet (1.0 - 1.5mm) and stamped/niello'd. (See Grew and Griffiths' article on the pre-Flavian military belt).

[Crispvs]

Chuck,

How many plates you put on the belt is up to you. Most of the Rhineland stelae show belts completely covered in plates. Other sculptures show belts with only three or four plates of differing shapes. The probable remains of a military belt found with a Mainz type sword at Vindonissa consisted of the remains of five plates, three of them square, one of them round and one of them in the shape of a winged thunderbolt. The Velson soldier had only eight plain plates on his belt: five normal plates and three hinged plates for buckle and frogs. The Herculanium soldier appears to have had two belts completely covered in plates (I think I remember reading of twenty two plates having been found on him).

I hope this helps rather than confuses.

Crispvs

[Emeraldweapon7d]

have any of you had any experience with "fascia ventralis" as described in arma vol3 no.1? it's sort of like a waist sash you can use to slip items into in the place of pockets and could provide a bit of padding and help support the weight of the double belts.

[Tarbicus]

have any of you had any experience with "fascia ventralis" as described in arma vol3 no.1? it's sort of like a waist sash you can use to slip items into in the place of pockets and could provide a bit of padding and help support the weight of the double belts.

My tunics are of the big and baggy type, and they come in very useful for helping to keep the 'overhang' under control. If you also need to hitch your tunic up as seen in many frescoes and mosaics, it keeps the tunic very secure whilst keeping some odd bits out of the way. There are others who use them for back support whilst wearing armour, but I'll leave it for them to comment.

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/mymuk/60615489/]Wash day in Pompeii[/url]

[Crispvs]

Both Peronis and I own and sometimes wear the fascia ventralis. As I only wear a single belt however (I wear segmentata when in armour) I cannot offer much to help with the weight issue. I do however use the sash as a pocket from time to time and is quite effective in this role, as long as you do not try to tuck more than one or two small items into it.

You should be able to make out my sash in this photo (I am the figure on the right). You may be able to see that I have a pair of small cymbals tucked into it.



Some of the other members of the group can be seen wearing sashes here: http://www.romanarmy.net/images/Pages/p ... 06_jpg.htm

Peronis may be able to tell you more about wearing the sash with double belts.

Crispvs

[Tarbicus]

Excuse the photo, it looks as if I'm hanging on a coat hook :wink:

[url:1py8o5ka]http://hometown.aol.com/Tarbicus/IMG01078.jpg[/url]